Disgraceland – The Rolling Stones, Pt. 2: Swinging London, Stolen Jewels, the Mars Bar Myth, and Busted at Redlands

Host: Jake Brennan
Release Date: September 13, 2025

Episode Overview

In this episode, Jake Brennan dives deeper into the mythic, chaotic London years of The Rolling Stones, focusing on their infamous run-ins with the law, the social upheaval of the 1960s, aristocratic connections, and the legendary Redlands drug bust. The episode exposes the intrigue, betrayals, legendary rumors, and the very real establishment vendettas that threatened to destroy the band. Above all, it’s a story about the price of being young, dangerous, and influential during the swinging era—told with Disgraceland’s signature pulpy style, blending drama, vintage slang, and darkly comic asides.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Setting the Scene: London Turmoil and the Rolling Stones on Trial

• The Rolling Stones stood at the crossroads of London’s changing culture in the ‘60s: a scene of pop rivalry, decadent aristocrats, gangsters, and a ravenous press (08:25).
• The band was “bending the law and social norms” while continuing to break musical boundaries (08:10).
• The major question: “How had it come to this? Jail for nothing… Pills, amphetamines. They were prescribed—legal. Was it because of Robert Fraser… Mary Ann… Brian Jones…?” (05:10).

2. The Meteoric Rise of the Stones

• Jake details the Stones’ unbroken ascent from Marquee Club shows, chart hits, US tours, and blues infatuations (07:03), including:
  • Bo Diddley/Little Richard tours
  • Sessions at Chess Studios with Muddy Waters (“Mick could have died then and there…” 07:57)
  • James Brown’s Apollo performance lessons and rivalry (“James took them to school…” 09:10)

3. Keith Richards and the Infamous Dream

• The genesis of “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” is retold as Keith’s dreamlike moment—“woke up from the dream and luckily had enough sense to put the riff down on tape…” (09:59).
• The band’s string of chart-toppers and increasing bad-boy reputation, contrasted with the Beatles, whose own vices “anyone in the know knew better” (11:15).

4. A World of Crooks, Aristos, and Underworld Connections

• Characters like Spanish Tony (Keith’s shady “friend”), Robert Fraser (“fallen angel of Eton”), the Kray twins, and Michael Cooper populate the Stones’ orbit (15:40).
• Keith gets unwittingly embroiled in a jewelry heist getaway, manipulated by Spanish Tony (16:25):
  • “Tony had just robbed the arcade’s jewelry store. A hit and run, a real bang bang job. Tony had the new Jag, a clean car, and he needed a clean getaway driver. He knew Keith would never do it if he knew the score, so Tony set him up.”
• The band’s proximity to gangsters enables “hard to find drugs—in particular, acid,” leading to their connection with “the Acid King,” David Schneiderman (18:05).

5. The Redlands Bust: LSD, Paranoia, and Police Intrusion

• At Keith’s Redlands home, the group drops acid, including Stones, Marianne Faithful, Robert Fraser, and Christopher Gibbs (18:40).
• A surreal, hallucinatory police raid commences:
  • “On that infamous day, February 11, 1967… a hard knock on the door. Was it really a knock? Or was it a collective aural hallucination?” (19:10)
  • Keith confronts the police: “Keith couldn’t wait to meet them. He opened the door, shirtless in his skin tight pinstripe slacks… Gentlemen, wonderful attire. Am I expecting you? Anyway, come on in. It’s a bit chilly out.” (20:30)
• The police (“dwarves,” “piggy dwarves”) ransack the house, shame Marianne Faithful (found by police “clad in nothing but Keith’s fur rug”), and seem to target the Stones specifically while ignoring Acid King Schneiderman and his case of LSD (21:15).

6. Planting Evidence and Press Collusion

• When Brian Jones is raided at his flat, the press arrives before the police, signaling collusion (27:50).
• Police Sergeant Norman Pilcher makes a show of finding drugs, which friends assert were planted:
  • “Old nobby hadn’t made it to the Redlands raid, but he made his presence felt during the raid of Brian Jones’ apartment, making a big show of his search technique...” (28:30)
• “The drugs were planted, pure and simple. Planted to sink the Stones.” (29:40)

7. Media Myths and the Mars Bar Legend

• The notorious “Mars Bar incident” is addressed and debunked:
  • “How did it taste? The Mars Bar, the one the coppers caught him eating out of Marianne Faithful’s vagina at Redlands… The rumor was sick and totally false and cooked up by one of the raiding cops and passed on to the press to run with…” (31:15)
• Marianne Faithful is publicly shamed, cast as both corruptor and victim (32:10).

8. Rock and Roll Attitude on Trial

• Keith Richards’ now-legendary trial testimony is fully recounted:
  • Prosecutor: "Would you agree that… you would expect a young woman to be embarrassed if she had nothing on in front of several men?"
  • Keith: "Not at all. We are not old men and we are not worried about petty morals."
  • Prosecutor: "Did it come as a great surprise… that she was prepared to go back downstairs, still only wearing a rug…?"
  • Keith: "I thought the rug was big enough to cover three women." (35:50)
  • Keith (on embarrassment): “She doesn’t embarrass easily. Nor do I.” (36:15)
• This exchange cements Keith’s folk-hero status: “Tell it like it is, can’t give a fuck, rock and roll pirate…” (36:40)

9. Convictions, Sentences, and Aftermath

• Keith is sentenced to a year (the max) for “a relatively minor drug charge… for his smart mouth.” Mick and Robert Fraser get three months; Brian gets a nine-month suspended sentence (38:00).
• The establishment’s clear vendetta is called out. However, the London Times runs the now-famous “Who breaks a butterfly on a wheel?” editorial, which shifts public opinion, and the Stones’ prison sentences are quashed on appeal (39:45).
• Jake reveals that the tip-off to the News of the World and then police was from Keith’s own chauffer and that Schneiderman, the Acid King, was likely a police informant set up to snare the group (41:15).

Memorable Moments & Notable Quotes

• Mick’s breakdown behind bars (05:10):
  “Mick saw the writing on the wall. This was it. This was game, set, match. The squares had won. He was done. Keith was surely done as well. Brian had been done for over a year now. Charlie would have to go back to the trad jazz clubs and who knew what Bill would do. Ian would probably end up driving a lorry. Andrew had already split for the States, couldn’t take the heat from the arrests. He wasn’t even there. Coward. If Mick ever got out of this, he knew one thing. If the Rolling Stones were to continue, it would be without Andrew.”

• Keith’s implacable wit in court (35:50):

  • Prosecutor: “Would you agree that… a young woman would be embarrassed if she had nothing on in front of several men?”
  • Keith: “Not at all. We are not old men and we are not worried about petty morals.”
  • Keith (when prodded on embarrassment): “She doesn’t embarrass easily. Nor do I.”

• On police malice and establishment conspiracy (29:50):

  • “But how in the hell did the press get there so quickly? How did they know what was going on and left a call and inquire about being busted for drugs before the police even showed up? ... The drugs were planted, pure and simple. Planted to sink the Stones.”

• Debunking the Mars Bar myth (31:15):

  • “The rumor was sick and totally false and cooked up by one of the raiding cops and passed on to the press to run with… Beyond being ridiculous, it was totally unfair to Marianne Faithful.”

• Keith’s transformation (36:40):

  • “The exchange… instantly cemented Keith Richards reputation as we know it today. That tell it like it is. Can’t give a fuck. Rock and roll pirate… and for sticking up for his singer’s girlfriend in public at the expense of his own freedom, for in effect telling the establishment to go fuck themselves, he was elevated to instant folk hero status.”

• On the Times editorial, and the Stones’ mythos (39:45):

  • “The London Times, that ran an editorial pointing out the unjust and extremely harsh sentencing… claiming correctly that had they been regular citizens and not pop stars… that their sentences wouldn’t have been nearly as extreme.”

Important Timestamps

• 05:10 – Mick Jagger’s psychological collapse in jail
• 09:59 – The “Satisfaction” riff and Stones songwriting process
• 16:25 – Keith and Spanish Tony’s jewelry heist incident
• 18:05 – The Acid King’s arrival and introduction to LSD
• 19:10 – 21:15 – The Redlands raid (hallucinatory police intrusion)
• 27:50 – 29:40 – Brian Jones’ arrest, press/police collusion, evidence planted
• 31:15 – 32:10 – The Mars Bar rumor and its impact on Marianne Faithful
• 35:50 – 36:40 – Keith Richards’ iconic trial testimony
• 38:00 – 39:45 – Prison sentences, The Times editorial, and public reversal
• 41:15 – Chauffer tip-off, police setup, Acid King as potential accomplice

Tone, Style & Final Thoughts

Jake Brennan narrates with punchy, noir-inspired wit, mixing fact and dramatization (“dwarves,” “piggy dwarves,” and lurid detail), never shying from the scandal but grounding it in the era’s shifting lines of loyalty, morality, and fame. The episode resonates as both a true crime exposé and a cautionary tale about fame, power, and the relentless machine of tabloid culture.

If You Missed Episode 1:

To get the full context, listeners are encouraged to catch up on Part 1 for the Stones’ early clashes with the establishment and their rivalry with the Beatles.

For sources, credits, and further reading:
Visit www.disgracelandpod.com.